QUICK NEWS, 1-18: TO SUPPORT SUN; OFFSHORE SOUTH CAROLINA WIND RICHES; KEEP GEOTHERMAL ICELANDIC, BJORK DEMANDS; VOLT EV – HOT IN THE COLD

TO SUPPORT SUN
Exploring The Available Tax Credits For Solar Developers And Manufacturers
Jessica Lillian, 11 January 2011 (Solar Industry Magazine)

"The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Section 1603 cash-grant program, popularly known as the Treasury Grant Program or the TGP, received a great deal of attention at the end of last year, as the solar sector worked feverishly to see this essential program extended…[T]he full story of federal money for solar companies - and its availability year to year - is much larger than one program…[S]olar advocates should focus on four key finance-related priorities when working with national and state-level legislators…

"First…existing 48C provisions - which allow manufacturers of solar energy equipment to claim a 30% tax credit - must be extended. Members of Congress are expected to, at least, be amenable to considering extension…With credit-renewal efforts should come evidence that the credit is helping the industry make noticeable strides…"

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"Next, solar companies should pursue extension of alternative minimum tax (AMT) turnoff provisions…A little-known tax law change in the small-business bill that was passed in September 2010 allowed companies paying AMT to take advantage of research and development (R&D) tax credits…Without this provision, as many as eight out of 10 solar companies could not cost-effectively use R&D credits…

"In addition…solar companies should push to expand the existing federal R&D credit to make it more beneficial and globally competitive…Finally, on the state level… the refundable tax credits available in Minnesota, Louisiana and New York [are] highly attractive…[S]olar firms located in those states - or considering a move there – [should] take full advantage of these offerings…Policymakers in other states may be convinced to offer similar tax credits - if they hear convincing arguments from their constituents…"

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"…[T]he TGP… can be a viable part of long-term incentive infrastructure, but for the best chance at garnering legislators' support…the solar sector should be careful to avoid immediately pushing for the program's permanence - and make sure to stress its timely economic benefits…

"Overall, although some solar advocates have expressed concern about advancing their agenda with the new, more Republican-leaning Congress…current policymakers have a keen interest in pursuing energy independence…[so] the renewable energy industry's voices will be heard…"


OFFSHORE SOUTH CAROLINA WIND RICHES
Blowin' in the Wind; Can Grand Strand lead an energy revolution?
Kimberley Moore, January 13, 2011 (Weekly Surge)

"…[T]he United States is faced with an aging and deteriorating infrastructure and a rapidly depleting supply of non-renewable resources...And [South Carolina’s] Grand Strand is at the epicenter of a new movement to restore the country's infrastructure and economy by building on renewable resources…[Because wind is] a renewable, primary source of energy the Grand Strand has in abundance…as up and down the East Coast, states…scramble to be the first…to develop offshore wind farms…[South Carolina] may emerge as the big winner…

"…The DOE's report, 20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply,, finds that the nation possesses natural resources to supply far in excess of 20 percent [of its power from wind]. In South Carolina, shallow coastal waters and wind speeds combine to make our location ideal for offshore wind energy…[The DOE’s] National Renewable Energy Laboratory…estimates South Carolina has nearly 130,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy potential, enough to provide more than 260 percent of the state's current electricity generation demand. The NREL estimates for each megawatt of offshore wind energy capacity built in U.S. waters, more than 20 direct jobs would be created…"

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"…[T]he Center for Marine and Wetland Studies at Coastal Carolina University and is lead principal investigator of the Palmetto Wind Research Project. The project, in its seventh year, is a collaborative effort among CCU and North Carolina State University, Clemson University, Santee Cooper, the South Carolina Energy Office and several other state and local groups, to study the possibilities for offshore wind farming along our coast…To further the cause, the DOE 2010 budget for wind energy was $79 million, with more than $24 million invested in research and testing alone…

"…[T]he Palmetto Wind Research Project [installed] six buoys in two locations…[and, in] August, the researchers collected the buoys, compiled the data, and began to look at the next steps of the project…[The] Project hopes to have an offshore platform for an anemometer tower built in Winyah Bay, which would measure wind speeds and direction, taking measurements at up to 80 meters up, in search of what researchers call "the hub height" where the resource is the greatest…"

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"Ports up and down the East Coast are in a race to corner the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind energy market…[T]he city of North Myrtle Beach has asserted itself as a demonstration city…In late November, North Myrtle Beach and Santee Cooper installed the first wind turbine to the South Carolina electric grid, a 30-foot, 2.4 kilowatt Skystream wind turbine located on the oceanfront…The turbine begins to generate electricity when the wind speed reaches eight miles per hour, and runs at full capacity at speeds of 29 miles per hour. While the turbine contributes to the state's electric grid, it produces only a small amount of power, about enough to run a refrigerator. The main purpose of the turbine is as a demonstration project to educate the public and raise awareness about the future of wind energy…

"The offshore wind industry in South Carolina is a grassroots movement among academics, researchers, and emerging new businesses being built from the ground up, and the Grand Strand stands on the verge of a tremendous opportunity…For South Carolina, not investing in infrastructure and development of coastal wind resources could still leave coastal residents paying a hefty cost…[for not] reducing reliance on coal and other non-renewable fossil fuels…"


KEEP GEOTHERMAL ICELANDIC, BJORK DEMANDS
Singer Bjork petitions Iceland to stop energy sale
Omar Valdimarsson and Nicole Mordant (w/Paul Casciato), January 17, 2011 (Reuters)

"Singer Bjork presented a petition…to Iceland's prime minister, protesting against the sale of an Icelandic geothermal energy company.

"The deal to sell Iceland's HS Orka to Canadian-based geothermal firm Magma Energy Corp (MXY.TO) was approved by a parliamentary oversight committee last year, but has faced public opposition since -- most notably from [Icelandic singer] Bjork…known for her political activism…[She] said that Icelanders should be allowed to decide through a referendum whether access to the country's natural resources should be privatised."

Bjork - defender of Iceland's resources (click to enlarge)

"Bjork led a group of 70 to 80 protesters to present Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir with the petition of 47,000 signatures…Iceland has a population of about 319,000…Sigurdardottir then invited the singer and two other activists to her office for a chat…Sigurdardottir, who joined in with protestors singing outside her office in downtown Reykjavik, said…she had accepted the petition ‘with great pleasure.’"

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"Magma, headed by mining magnate Ross Beaty, said…it was "business as usual" at the company and its subsidiary. Neither Magma nor Orka had been contacted by the government, Magma spokeswoman Alison Thompson said…Magma's shares were 4 Canadian cents weaker, or down 2.9 percent, at C$1.34 on the Toronto Stock Exchange…

"The sale of Orka to Magma was agreed to by Iceland's previous government, which was brought down by the financial crisis…[but] reviews of the Orka sale were completed by the current government."


VOLT EV – HOT IN THE COLD
GM says Chevrolet Volt works fine in frigid weather
Chris Woodyard, January 17, 2011 (USA Today)

"One of the big fears about electric cars was that extremes in temperature, both excessive heat and cold, would bedevil their systems and make them harder to cool or heat, or drain the battery in the process. Not so, says General Motors when it comes to the electric Chevrolet Volt.

"The problem is that electric cars have such efficient powerplants that they don't produce enough waste heat [to warm] the car's occupants…[T]hat huge car battery…can electrically heat the cabin…[but it takes] as much energy to heat the interior of a car on a cold day as it does to drive…"

Charging Volt in the cold (click to enlarge)

"…General Motors says the Volt has several features designed to minimize the drain on the lithium-ion battery while still affording occupant comfort…[D]rivers can use the smart phone app to remotely start the car while it's still plugged in. That way, the car gets warm before it is driven and it takes power from the electric grid, not draining the battery.

"Volt engineers took the car to locales such as Kapuskasing, Ontario, and Fairbanks, Alaska, in order to test and calibrate the climate control system. Of course, Volt has…a backup gas engine, so even if it has poorer performance in cold weather, the gas engine can save the day."